Electric valve



(No Model.)

W. S. JOHNSON. 'Y

ELECTRIC VALVE. No. 351,702. 'Patented Oct. 26, 1886.

NIH Hill meases UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVARREN S. JOHNSON, OF VIIITEWATERASSIGNOR TO THE JOHNSON ELECTRIC SERVICE COMPANY, OF'MILW'AUKEE, WISCONSIN ELECTRIC VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 351,702, dated October 26, 1886.

Application tiled July 6, 1885. Serial No. 170,735. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WARREN S. J oHNsoN, of Whitewater, in the county of \Valworth, and lin the State of XVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elec tric Valves; and I do hereby declare thatthe following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof'.

My invention relates to electric valves, and will be fully described hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a View, partly in elevation and partly in section, of devices embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a section through the vertical center of the secondary valve and coupling for controlling the passage of air to and its exit from the main cylinder.` Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the said secondary valve. A

My invention belongs t'o that class of devices wherein the movements of valves are controlled by means of the pressure of fluids, lthe' flu is which operate the valves being in" turn controlled bya secondary or electric valve. Pat# ent No. 301,059 and allowed application N o. 156,767, granted to lne heretofore, as well as' my pending application, executed May 2, 1885, show devices whereby a main valve is controlled by a fluid under pressure, the said fluid being itself controlled by an electric valve. My present invention differs from such in that, instead of operating the main valve by means of the expansion of a fluid, it is operated by thedirect pressure of the external atmosphere, when the air is exhausted from a chamber whichv is in mechanical connection with` the' main valve to be operated. K

A is the aforesaid main valve, which'controls the ow of hot air, steam, Src., through the pipe a.

B is the exhaustion-chamber or mainy cylinder, from which the air is removed when the main valve A is to be operated in one direction.

C is an air-tube leading from the chamber of' the electricallyactuated secondary valve D, which controls the exhaustion-chamber B.

E is the continuation of the said air-tube C,

' and connects the said chamber of valve D with 5o From the vacuum-cylinder F another pipe, G,

leads to au exhausting-pump. (Not fully illustrated in the drawings, but indicated at X.) H is the electric battery,which furnishes the electricity to operate the secondary valve D by means of the connectingwiresl I I, and .I

perature ofthe atmosphere about it, to control the secondary valve D by means of the electromagnet K, as hereinafter explained.

In Fig. l the main valve A is represented as a plugcoclgwhich serves to close the steam or other passage c when turned in one direc- Ution, as indicated by the dotted lines b b,which closes the ports a c', and lo open said passage when turned in another direction, as shown in full lines on the drawings. This plug-cock A is provided'with a slotted arm, c, which is wristed (by pin d passing through the slot c' in said arm) to the piston-rod d, which latter passes at one end through a standard, y, and

.terminates in a flange, y', and between the said parts g and y this free end of the piston-rod l carries a retracting-spring, h, while the other end of said piston-rod cl carries a pistonhead, e. which is accurately fitted in the cylinder B. When the air Vis exhausted from the chamber IB, the atmospheric pressure upon the pistonhead e will move thev arm c forward and close the ports a a in the passage a by the valveA; but when air is again admitted to said cylinder B, the retractile force of the spring h will serve to move the piston-rod back, and thereby turn the valve A and open the ports again.

In place of the spring h, I may use any of its well-lnown equivalents-such as a weight', opposing cylinder, &c.

Iny Fig.- 2 I show the construction of the valve D, its casing D', and connecting passages. The valve D controls the passage and exit of air to and from the chamber or cylinder B. The valvecasing D screws into the coupling DZwliich coupling receives'the pipes C and E, already described, which are connected to the valve-chamber D3 within the casing D by the ports or passages j and i, respectively, formed in said coupling. At k (in the screw-cap or upper part, Z, ofthe casing D)fis the inlet for the external air. As shown in'Fig. 2, the passage from to j is fully open, as the lower head of lthe valve D is raised from its seat m, and

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S5 is a circult-closing device operated by the tern al the same timcit will be seen that the port k l remain constantly cool and in :1 properlyis closed, since the upper head of the said valve is raised against its seat n; andthe said upper head of the valve carries a spring, o, surrounding it and abutting against the screwcap Zand against the top of the lower head of the valve, and this valve has a stem, p, which projects up through the screw-cap Z and receives the end of the armature-lever L, above which the end of the stem p is screw-threaded to receive the nnts q q.

M is the armature, journaled iu suitable standards, r i', and properly secured to its leer L. \Vhen the circuit is closed, the armature M is attracted by the magnet K, and the outer end ol' the lever L consequently is raised, pulling the stem p upward with it and raising the lower head ofthe valveD from its seat m, thereby opening the passagej Di' i and closing the port 1:, all as shown in Fig. 2; but when the current isbroken, the said valve-head falls by reason of gravity andthe force of the spring o, thus closing the port and opening the passage j D3 7c.

The part J, hereinbefore named, may be any one of the well-known forms of thermostats which will serve to make or break the electric circuit by the fluctuations of temperature in the apartment where it is situated.

To better explain the working of my devices in a given ease, let it be supposed that the valve A controls the admission of steam for heating purposes to the apartment in which the thermostat J is situated. The valve A is now open and the electric circuit is broken at J. Should the temperature rise sufficientl y at J to close the electric circuit, the valve D will be operated and the chamber B will be eX- hausted of air, and by the described pressure of the external atmosphere on the outside of the pistou-head e the latter will be forced inward in the cylinder B, and by means of the pin d' on the pistonrod d the arm c will be drawn forward and the valve A turned so as to close the ports a a and shut off the steam. Then the temperature falls suciently to again break the circuit at J, the head of the valve D will fall and open the passagej D3 7c. The external air now rushes into the chamber B, leaving the spring 7L free to operate the valve A in the opposite direction.

The use of a vacuum in place of a fluid under pressure for the operation of valves is especially desirable when the air-pump is to be run continuously, from the well-known fact that while compression-pumps in constant use 'become excessively heated and often disarrangcd, exhaustion-pumps, on the other hand,

lubricated condition.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In electrically-actuated valves, the combination, with'a main valve, of an eXhaustionchamber whose movablewall operates 'said valve when the air is withdrawn from said chamber, a vacuum-chamber connected therewith, an electrically-actuated secondary valve arranged to control the passage of air from the exhaustion-chamber to the vacunnrchamber, an electric circuit, and a thermostatic circuit closing d evice, whereby the closing of thev electric circuit operates the said ysecondary valve, substantially as set forth.

2. In electrically-actuated valves, the coinbination, with a main valve, of an exhaustionchamber whose movable wall operates said valve when the air is withdrawn from said chamber, a vacuum-chamber connected therewith, an electrically-actuated secondary valve arranged at an intermediate point between the exhaustion-chamber and the vacuunrchamber, and adapted to admit the passage of air from the exhaustion-chamber to the vacuunrchaniber, as well as from the outside atmosphere to the exhaustion-chamber, an electric circuit,

'and a thermostatic circuit-closing device,

whereby the closing of the electric circuit operates the said secondary valve, substantially as set forth.

3. In elcctricallyactnated valves, the coinbinatiou of a steam or other passage provided with suitable ports, a main valve adapted to control said ports and having a slotted arm connected thereto, an exhaustion-chamber, a piston-head moving therein and connected to a piston-rod having a pin working in the slotted arm, a retractingspring arranged upon said piston-rod, a vacuum-chamber connected to the exhaustion -charnber, an electricallyactuated secondary valve adapted for controlling the passage of air from the exhaustion chamber to the vacuum-chamber and from the outside atmosphere to the exhaustion-chamber, an electric circuit, and a thermostat in said circuit, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of \Viscon sin, in the presence of two witnesses.

VARREN S. JOHNSON.

Witnesses;

II. G. UNDnRWoon, (i. A. PLATZ.

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